Woodward 'thanks' rivals

Woodward said: "I thought, on reflection, defensively we were outstanding. It was just awesome but I think that we will be very critical of the amount of ball we turned over which meant we had to defend for our lives. I think that it was one of England's greatest ever defensive performances, and that's what won the game. But in terms of our attacking play, we were way off. There will be some changes for this weekend."

One change they won't have to make is Lawrence Dallaglio. The big No8 has escaped citing for a punching incident during-Saturday's game - and Straeuli is not happy about it.

Springbok Thinus Delport was left with a cut over an eye and Straeuli said: "We are very disappointed that nothing has happened. We have lost a player for Friday's game because of what Dallaglio did. We are not happy."

Instead, England's main decision is whether to play Jonny Wilkinson against the tough-tackling Samoans.

Stuart Abbot, the London Wasps centre, is expected to fill the gap left by Will Greenwood, who is back in London to be with his pregnant wife Caro.

Julian White is likely to start at tight-head prop with Martin Corry drafted into the second row if Danny Grewcock's broken toe fails to allow him a first start in the tournament. Joe Worsley is favourite to appear in the back row in a game that will need his physical brand of play while Richard Hill and Matt Dawson need game time after injuries forced them to miss the win over South Africa.